Woman who received Rs 30-35 crore sent to judicial custody in Rs 150 crore Kotak Mahindra scam

The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SV&ACB) has arrested Swati Tomar in the Rs 150 crore Kotak Mahindra Bank scam case.

The investigation has revealed that Rs 30 to Rs 35 crore was allegedly transferred from the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, accounts into Swati Tomar's personal bank account. She was produced before the court on Tuesday and sent to 14 days of judicial custody.

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This revelation about Tomar had emerged during the SV&ACB's inquiry. Since then, she was on the ACB's radar. She is currently preparing for administrative services examinations.

Rajat Dahra, who allegedly received Rs 70 crore in the scam, had established contact with Tomar. It is learned that the co-accused assured her that the funds were genuine money, and she allegedly agreed to open the bank account.

On April 7, SV&ACB told the court that, based on the interrogation conducted during the investigation and the records obtained, sufficient evidence warranting arrest was found against Tomar; consequently, she was arrested in this case.

During the personal search of Tomar, one mobile phone was seized.

“During the course of the investigation, while in police custody, the accused voluntarily recorded a confessional statement—without any inducement, promise, or coercion…,” said SV&ACB.

Tomar is the fifth arrest in the case. Relationship Manager (RM) at Kotak Mahindra Bank, Dilip Singh Raghav, was the first to be arrested in the case on March 25, for allegedly sending emails with false information to MC Panchkula.

Dahra was the second arrestee and had allegedly received Rs 70 crore from the MC Panchkula accounts. The third accused, Kapil, a resident of Rajpura, was arrested for allegedly receiving Rs 2.36 crore from the MC Panchkula accounts.

Ex-Senior Accounts Officer of the Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, Vikas Kaushik, who allegedly, in collusion with the Deputy Vice President of the Bank, Pushpender Singh, fraudulently opened two accounts of the local body and transferred funds, was the fourth arrest in the case.

As per the FIR in the scam, the MC was maintaining 16 FDs, amounting to Rs 145.03 crore, with a maturity value of Rs 158.02 crore, in the bank's Sector 11 branch in Panchkula. Of the 16 FDs, 11, amounting to Rs 59.58 crore, matured on February 16. When the MC contacted the bank, officials provided statements that neither matched one another nor the MC's records, particularly with respect to the FDs.

The investigation into builders receiving the majority of funds is still ongoing in the case. Pushpender Singh is absconding.